The present invention is related generally to accessories for small yard tractors such as riding lawn mowers, and in particular, to a detachable and pivoting side-mount mowing deck designed to facilitate the mowing of sloped surfaces adjacent a riding mower.
Small yard tractors and riding mowers typically provide a centrally mounted mowing deck located between the front and rear wheels, with an elevated operator position located above the rear wheels. The mowing deck typically is comprised of two or more rotating cutting blades driven by a drive-belt and pulley assembly coupled to the riding mower engine. As the riding mower is driven over the ground, the blades of the mowing deck cut a swath of grass which is generally slightly wider than the lateral wheel base of the riding mower.
The lateral wheel base of most yard tractors and riding mowers is generally fairly small, and with an operator seated in the elevated operator position, the center of gravity of the yard tractor or riding mower is elevated to a height sufficient to cause operator apprehension when traversing sloped ground. Accordingly, most operators of yard tractors and riding mowers find it difficult to mow laterally along sloped surfaces, such as those found alongside roads, ditches, or hillsides. Some hillsides or embankments can be mowed with a yard tractor or riding mower traveling up or down the slope, however, this is often not possible for smaller ditches or culverts, where the yard tractor or riding mower may become stuck at the bottom of a narrow culvert. Similarly, if a ditch or culvert is narrower than the length of the yard tractor or riding mower, it may not be possible to position the mowing deck sufficiently low within the ditch or culvert to achieve the desired level of grass cutting when traveling across it.
Accordingly, there is a need for an accessory or supplemental side-mount mowing deck which can be easily secured to, and removed from, a yard tractor or riding mower, and which can be raised or lowered as required to follow the contour of the ground adjacent to the path of the yard tractor or riding mower, independent of the position of the primary mowing deck.